Mothers make the best martyrs. This is because we take pride in our innate tendency to nurture. And a lot of us have gotten into the prolonged habit of putting everyone’s needs on equal footing with or ahead of our own.

Take it from me: You don’t have to be overly stoic or Super Mom, or – God forbid – a martyr when your child’s gotta have surgery. Our oldest daughter was only one when she had the first of three eye surgeries. Now, she’s 7, and she’s got to go back “under the knife.”